DADT Is Dead

[W]e can’t marry in most states, it is still legal for employers to fire someone solely because of his or her sexuality, and LGBT couples face various other enormous tax and other financial inequalities under the law. But these are consequences of legal indifference, not the products of active and hostile pursuit.

… by the government. What made DADT so horrifying was not just that it was irrationally discriminatory against patriots and heroes, but that the government supposed to protect these citizens from discrimination was the main force doing so. The Pentagon fired countless servicemembers explicitly and solely because they were gay – which sends a very powerful signal to the private sector that it's legit to do the same. It always struck me as bizarre for a government to endorse a law banning private sector discrimination, while reserving for itself the power to fire any gay person at will. And when you see the reality of gay servicemembers – like the polite professional above – and the sheer relief of not having to lie to everyone in your life, you begin to realize what liberation this is, and wonder why it took so long.

One day, a gay spouse will receive at a military funeral the flag on behalf of his husband who died in battle. On that awful day, dignity will attach to gay Americans. And decency too. I remain intensely grateful for the Obama administration in getting this done and for the military itself which was far more mature about this than so many posturing politicians. This is truly a new day – one so many of us dreamed of but which has now come to pass.